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Territorial Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that we live on unceded Coast Salish territories, specifically the W̱SÁNEĆ (Saanich), Quw’utsun (Cowhichan) and Stz’uminus (Chemanius) First Nations territories. It is a privilege for us to be here on their ancestral lands. We thank the caretakers of this land who have lived, and continue to live here, since time immemorial.

Wisdom of The Earth Wilderness School strives to reconnect people to nature, self and community; to cultivate wholeness. We advocate for the reunion of humans and nature as a necessity for all nations and people. We wish to acknowledge our place as settler descendants; that many of our ancestors came to these lands through the ongoing process of violent dispossession and colonialism. We recognize that we are not immune to past and ongoing colonial processes. As an organisation, we are on our own learning journey in an effort to identify and challenge the dominant colonial narratives and dynamics that can exist within this work. We aim to avoid acts of appropriation and to respect the traditional people on whose land we live. It is our hope that reuniting with nature, as our first home and foundation, will lead to deeper personal and cultural healing for all.

*In the spirit of reconciliation and reparation, Indigenous students, once accepted into our programs, automatically receive a scholarship independent of need.

GRATITUDE FOR OUR LINEAGE

At Wisdom of the Earth, we are working to co-create a culture rooted in the cycles and rhythms of Nature and anchored in traditional mentoring lineages from Earth-connected cultures around the world. We are part of a greater world-wide movement of deep nature connection, following a time-tested mentoring model based on the work of Jon Young and the 8 Shields Institute. Half of this model focuses on regenerating deep nature connection; the other half on deep people connection–Nature and Culture supporting each other for health and full aliveness, for a thriving future.

We have a deep gratitude for all those who have walked before us. We acknowledge and honour those who have inspired us, and given lovingly of themselves in order to preserve the skills and wisdom from ancient times for future generations, in particular the following ancestors and teachers: Ingwe, initiated member of the Akamba tribe of Kenya; Jake and Judy Swamp, Wolf Clan Elders of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation; traditional Lakota Elder Gilbert Walking Bull. We offer our profound gratitude to Jon Young and to Tom Brown Jr., for their work and deep commitment to the future generations. We give thanks to the many generations of mothers and grandmothers whose commitment to nurturing life supports ours now. We also want to acknowledge Jean Liedloff, Marshall Rosenberg, Inbal Kashtan, John Bowlby, and Masanobu Fukuoka, as having deep influence on our work.

Without all your steps before us, we would not be walking the path we are now.

Photography Credits: Katrina Rain, Dwane Roberge, Sydney Woodward, Vanya Laporte, Celeste Morris, Ingrid Bauer, Ayden Catry-Bauer, Charles Purvis Photography

Wisdom of the Earth Wilderness School | 115 Forest Ridge Road, Salt Spring Island, BC V8K 1W4 | info@wisdomoftheearth.ca